Reporting back

When the trustees make a grant they want to hear about how things are going – about the work you have done and how it has made a difference. Although it is good to hear about things that have gone well, it is also important that you tell us about things that haven’t worked, or that have worked in a different way than expected.

Your approach to evaluation
We don’t want to impose a ‘one size fits all’ approach to monitoring and evaluation on the huge variety of organisations we fund, but are keen to help groups think about some of the issues surrounding evaluation, if you aren’t already. This is something that you will have discussed with your grants manager at the second stage of the application process, as your proposal was prepared for committee. We are interested in helping you to devise ways of tracking and reporting on your progress and achievements which will contribute to your own planning and development.

We read and respond to the reports you send us, and also refer to them if you apply to us for further funding.

What information do you need to send us?
For revenue grants, we usually ask for a report one year after the previous payment in order to trigger the next instalment, plus an end of grant report: end of grant reports are also requested for one-year or capital grants. If we have made a grant over more than one year we can’t make further payments until we have received a satisfactory report and all the financial information we ask for. This usually includes:

A copy of your latest annual accounts and annual report

An income and expenditure budget for the whole organisation for the current financial year, showing what income is secured (plus a draft budget for the next financial year if you are near the end of your financial year)

Depending on the type of grant we have made, a breakdown of project costs over the next 12 months or details of how you are covering the balance of a salary if we are not funding in full.

Please check the relevant information and responsibilities sheet for details of everything that you should include in your report; your grant offer letter may also mention some specific areas we are interested in hearing more about. We provide guidance on what to include in your end of grant report in a separate information sheet.

Contact your grants manager if you have any questions about monitoring and evaluation, or about what information you should include in your report: their telephone number will be on any letters or emails they have sent you. If you can't find their number call the Information Team on 020 7727 8522 and we will put you through.